NAMES AND NAMING IN BEN JONSON'S EPIGRAMMES: PREFORMING THE SOCIAL PERFORMANCE NAMES AND NAMING IN BEN JONSON'S EPIGRAMMES: PREFORMING THE SOCIAL PERFORMANCE By CHARLES DAVID JAGO, B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts McMaster University (c) Copyright by Charles David Jago, Sept 1993 Master of Arts (1993) McMaster University (English Literature) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Names and Naming in Ben Jonson's Epigrammes: Preforming the Social Performance AUTHOR: Charles David Jago. B.A. (The University of Western Ontario) SUPERVISOR: Professor W.G. Roebuck NUMBER OF PAGES: 132 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I own very little of this work. This thesis owes its life to Dr. W.G. Roebuck whose efforts and enthusiasm fed it, nurtured it and saw it through to completion. Dr. Roebuck handled the dull duties of a supervisor with such consummate grace and infinite kindness that I will forever be indebted to him, and gladly too. He richly deserves all my thanks. I must also, though, thank Dr. M. Silcox who took the time to read and comment on early drafts of this thesis. The style and direction of the paper were shaped by the force of her insights and standards of scholarship. I also thank Dr. Ostovich for the care she took in reading this thesis and for her valued criticism. lowe a very special sort of thanks to Ting Ting Foong, my collaborator, whose words of encouragement consoled me in times of uncertainty. Ting Ting never failed to lend me hope when I lacked it and to dispel disappointment. Finally, I dedicate this work to all my grandparents whose faith and love have been my sanctuary and my most enduring happiness. iii ABSTRACT This study will discuss and seek to clarify the significance of Ben Jonson's use of names in the Epigrammes, as published in his 1616 folio edition of the Workes. My central argument here is that Jonson's use of names in this text is an integral part of an effort to preform a social performance. Jonson, in accordance with the Christian humanist view that poetry should morally edify its reader, attempts to modify the thought and behavior of an anticipated reader by disseminating an ideologically influenced interpretation of ordinary social phenomena -- a social performance -- in his poetry. Jonson's repeated use of names in the "Epigrammes" will be read as reflecting a commitment to both confirm and conform to a Christian mythos which incorporates and services a dichotomous view of reality. At its most basic level, my paper will show that Jonson dichotomizes his collection of Epigrammes by giving names as a reward to some subjects and attributing mock-names as punishments to others. From this observation I will argue that for Jonson the name acts as a cornerstone of an interpretation of a social performance that has religious, political, cultural and personal implications. iv The merit of this study is that it places Jonson's use of names in an expansive context. Criticism to date on the subject has treated names only as a means to show that the collection possesses a unity of form and function. In this study Jonson's use of names is not looked upon as an isolated event whose significance is strictly limited to the text of the Epigrammes. Historical, sociological and psychological aspects of naming are discussed and related to naming in Jonson's Epigrammes. By incorporating materials from a number of disciplines the study allows the religious and political significances of the action of naming to be fully appreciated. Such an approach to the subject of naming in the Epigrammes has never been attempted. In the end, the true value of this study is that affirms that naming is a vital form of expression in Jonson's poetic art. v TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................. 1 CHAPTER ONE: The Field of Study .......................... 9 CHAPTER TWO: The Functions of Names ...................... 23 CHAPTER THREE: Names and the Christian Mythos ............ 34 CHAPTER FOUR: Politics of the Name ....................... 55 CHAPTER FIVE: The Proper Name as Reward ............. , .... 68 CHAPTER SIX: The Mock-Name as Punishment ................ 94 NOTES .................................................... 118 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................. 130 vi INTRODUCTION In The Action of Ben Jonson's Poetry, Sara J. van den Berg notes that in Ben Jonson's book of Epigrammes published in the 1616 folio edition of his Workes, "repetition is not merely a trait but its central complex action."l The unity and cohesion in Jonson's Epigrammes is fundamentally a product of the organizing power of the repetition of syntax, image, theme and argument. Of the repeated "actions" that organize the collection of one hundred and thirty-three epigrams perhaps the most obvious (besides the numbering scheme) is his deployment of names. Each one of Jonson's Epigrammes, with a few notable exceptions, contains a name in its title. In all cases the name is either part of an address beginning with the word "to," or of an expository title beginning with the word "on. II Occasionally the same name appears more than once in the collection. However, the names in the titles of the epigrams are usually unique. The most important feature of Jonson's use of names in the Epigrammes is that they are noticeably of two types. On the one hand, approximately one half of the epigrams use proper personal names (Title, Christian name, surname) in their title. On the other hand, approximately half of the 1 2 DISTRIBUTION OF ACTIONS IN JONSON'S EPIGRAMMES PRAISING ELEGIES OTHER GESTURES DISPRAISING --------------- --------------- --------------- IV. TO KING .IAMES ><XU. ON MY FIRST DAUGHTER V. ON THE l.JNION L TO THE READER VI. TO AlCHEMISTS XXl.III.. ON SIi JOHN ROC II. TO MY BOOK£ XII}. TO l.JllllAM CAMDEN XXXI. ON SIR JOHN ROE V!I. ON TI£ NEl~ HOT --oousE XlIII.. TO THE LEARNED CRITIC .. TO MY BOOKE-SEllER VII. ON AROBBERY XXXII!. TO TI£ ~ [above] IX. TO ALl, TO WHOt-11 \.-JRITE XXI8. TO JOHN DONNE XL. ON MARGARET RIlTCUTE X. TO MY LORD IGNORANT XXX\}. TO KING JAMES )()()(JIJ. Of DEATH Xl ON SOME-TItNG, llilT XLV. ON MY FlRST SONNE Lxxx. Of LIFE AND DEATH XXXVI. TO THE GHOST Of LXX. TO WIlUllM ROE l-JALKES SOME-\.-JHERE MARTIAl a. INl.llTlNG A FRIEND TO SUPPER xn. ON UfJ.1TENANT SHfT CXx. EPITAPH ON SoP. AQU) CXXXUL ON THE FAt-1OIJS XUII. TO ROBERT EHRl£ Of Of Q. EL CI1APPEl XIII.. TO DOCTOR EK'IRIO: I.IOYAC'.>E }(I). ON COURT-wORM[ SAI..JSBI.m: CXXIV. EPITAPH ON FllZABETH U TO KING JHM[S ill XVL TO BRAVNE--+MDE lV. TO FRANCIS BEAUt-roNT XlIlil. TO MY KERf ENGIJSH LX. TO \.-JIllIAM LORD CENSURER MOI.MTEOOlE XTJ(.. ON SIR COO THE PERfU.tED LXIII. TO ROBERT EARLE Of xx. TO THE SAME SIR COD SAllSI3URIE XXI. ON REFORMED GAM'STER lXIl.l. TO THE SAt.-\[ (aOOtJe] XXIV. TO TI-£ PARI..¥lMENT LXVI. TO SIi HHIRIE CARY XXI}. ON SIR !JOllJlTIJOUS LXIII. TO THOMAS EARLE Of BEAST SUFFOlKE XXIJL ON TI£ SAME BEAST LXXII). TO THOMAS LORD XX\.IIII.. ON DON SlR.V CHANCELOR XXIX. TO SIR ANNUAL Tl..TER LXXVI. ON LUCY COUNTESS[ OF xxx. TO PERSON GUlL IE BEDFORD XXXL ON SANa< THE USI.ffR lX)crX. TO EUZABETH XXXVII. ON CI£\I'RIll THE COUNTESS[ Of RUTLAND LAl.JYER 1JOOO<l\}. TO LUCY COUNTESSE XXXlJlll TO PERSON GUlL TV OFBEOFORD XXXIX. ON OLD COLT 0<''XX1}. TO SIR HENRY XLL ON GYPSIT GOOOYERE X"LIL ON GILES IN) .lONE LXXX!}\. TO THE SAME (above] XlM. ON CIU'FE, BANCKS TI-£ lXXXIX. TO Ern·JAR!) ALLEN USURER'S KINSMAN XCI. TO SIR HORIlC[ \.IfRE XLVl TO SIR LUO'J..ESS XCHL TO SIR JOHN RAOCLJFFE t"OO-1lLL XCII}. TO LUCY, COUNTESS[ OF XlIJD. TO TI£ S&H: [above] BEDFORD. l.JITH MIt DONNES XllJlJl. ON MUNGRL ESQUIRE SIlTYRES' XLIX. TO PU\V-\.-.RGHT XCV. TO SIR H£NR!£ SAIJtLE L TO SIR COO XCVI. TO JOHN DONNE LIl TO CENSORIOUS cornTUNG Xc\}HL TO SIR THOMAS ROE LIlL TO 0l.D-D() GATI£RER Xax. TO THE SAME (above] UI.I. ON CI-£V'RIL CI. TO l.JlLLJilM £A'"rllE OF UJL ON POET 1lPE PEM:lROKE LV!I. ON BAlDES, At{) USlHRS CII. TO LADY MARY \.-JROTH LlIlIl TO GROOK: I)I'OT av. TO SUSAN COUNTESs[ Of UX.ONSPES MONTGOMERY LXI. TO FOOL, OR KNAI.IE C'J. TO MARY LADY I·JROTH LXII. TO FtIE LADV WOIJ.D.-BE[ CVI. TO SIR EDt·HlAD HEFBERT LX!}. TO MY MUSE C\}lll TO TRUE SOULDlERS LXI.lUL ON PU\V-\.-JRIGHT ax. TO SIR HENRY NEVIL LXlK TO PERTN\X COB CX. TO CLEMONT EDMONOS, ON LXXIX ON CornT -PARRAT HIS CAESARS Commentaries LXXi. TO CornT---tHJ obs~ved,andtrans~ted LXXUI. TO Fl£ GRAIoI) CXI. TO THE SAME; ON THE SAME LXXV. ON l.PP£, TI£ TEACIiER (above] LXX\II.. ON ONE llilT OCS/RED Cxm. TO SIR THOt-t:lS OVERBURY ME NOT TO NAK HM CXlIJ. TO MRS.. PHILIP SYDNEY lXXI.IIIL TO HORNET CXVL TO Slfl \·JlWAM JEPHSON LXXXL TO PROlli TI£ CXlX. TO MPH SHflTON PlAIGERARY CXXI. TO BENJAHIN RUDYERD LXXYJI.. ON CASHIERED <:WT. CXXII. TO THE SAME [above) SURLV CXXVI. TO THE SAME [abotJeJ LXXXH. TO II FRlEI{) CY-XI}. TO SIR \·JlLUAM UVEDALE LXXXVII. ON CIlPTAIHE HAZARD CXXVL TO HIS LAl),(, THEN t-1RS. THE OiEATER aIRY LXXXVI'" ON ENGlISH CXXVIL TO ESM!:, LOPIi t-1OUt~ O'Al8Gt-o.'Y XC. ON MIL MY LADIES \.-lOMAN CXXVIlL TO l~lLUAt·1 ROE XCII.